Nursing slip and combination maternity and nursing slip



G. F. GRATE June 17, 1969 NURSING SLIP AND COMBINATION MATERNITY AND NURSING SLIP Filed Nov. 24, 1967 INVIiNI'UR.

United States Patent 01 ice 3,449,763 Patented June 17, 1969 US. Cl. 273 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A slip under-garment for a woman, the slip having selfcontained means for exposing one or both breasts for nursing an infant, such means comprising detachable securement means whereby the breast cups of the slip may be folded back out of the way so to expose the breast during nursing.

This invention relates generally to ladies undergarments. More specifically it relates to a ladys slip.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide a ladys slip having self-contained means for conveniently exposing either one or both of the breasts for the purpose of nursing an infant.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a nursing slip which when not in use for nursing an infant may be worn in a conventional manner with thorough comfort.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a nursing slip which has an advantage of wearing just a half slip during the time or period of lactation, due to the fact that so many materials are quite thin or transparent, especially plain wash and wear fabrics.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a nursing slip which accordingly can feel and look more modest.

Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide a nursing slip which accordingly will not necessitate the purchase of a conventional slip and a half slip so that the mother may breast feed an infant and yet have a garment for other wear.

Other objects of the present invention are to provide a nursing slip which is simple in design, inexpensive to manufacture, rugged in construction, easy to use and efficient in operation.

These and other objects will be readily evident upon a study of the following specification and the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of one form of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view showing a modified form of the present invention;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of still another form thereof;

FIGURE 4 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 4--4 of FIGURE 1.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, reference numeral 10, as shown in FIGURE 1 of the drawing, represents a nursing slip of regular configuration and including cups 11 secured to the upper end of body panels 12, the upper ends of the cups 11 being connected to shoulder straps 13. As is shown in FIGURE 1, a slot 14 is provided between the cups, the slot extending vertically from the upper edge 15 of the garment and below the lower edge 16 of the cups, the slot having its opposite edges provided with snap fastener members or slide fasteners 17 which are connectable together. As is shown in FIGURE 4 of the drawing, the metal elements of the slide fastener 17 are protected by appropriate overlapping hems 18 upon the front and rear sides so as to prevent the same from coming into contact with the wearers body or into contact with the skin of an infant being held within a persons arms.

In a modified construction shown in FIGURE 2 of the drawing, a regular slip 20 is shown including a pair of cups 21 at the upper end of body panels 22, the upper ends of the cups being supported by means of shoulder straps upon a wearer. The shoulder straps 23 are secured to the upper edges 24 of the cups as is shown in the drawing. Each of the cups 21 is provided with a horizontally extending slot 25 located relatively close to the upper edge, 24, each of the slots 25 being selectively opened or closed by means of a slide fastener construction 17 as is shown in FIGURE 4 of the drawing, and wherein the slide fastener elements are likewise protected from engaging a persons body or an infants skin by means of hems 18.

In FIGURE 3 of the drawing, a further modified construction of the present invention is shown wherein there is a combination maternity nursing slip 30 and which includes a pair of cups 31 at the upper ends of body panels 32, the cups being separated by a vertically extending slot 33 therebetween which is equivalent in construction to the slot 14 shown in FIGURE 1 of the drawing. Slot 33 is likewise selectively closeable or opened by means of the slide fastener construction illustrated in FIGURE 4 of the drawing. This particular maternity nursing slip is designed particularly for the mother-to-be who is looking forward to breast feeding her baby.

In operative use, the nursing slips as illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 2 of the drawing may be worn in a normal manner with comfort when the wearer is not nursing an infant. When the mother desires to nurse an infant, she merely unzips the slide fastener and thus conveniently exposes a breast for the infant feeding operation, the cup being moved sidewardly. In the construction shown in FIGURE 2 of the drawing, after the slide fastener is unzipped the cup is moved downwardly so as to expose the breast.

The present maternity nursing slip is much more practical than a maternity nursing bra slip for the following reasons:

With a maternity nursing bra slip it would be diflicult to get a proper fit and needed support in the bra section and at the same time get proper fit with the slip. With a maternity nursing slip, a woman needs only to be concerned with the size of the slip which is worn over the top of the regular nursing bra. A maternity nursing slip needs no extra support in the breast area. It is not for supporting purposes but strictly for convenience of covering the other undergarments. With a maternity nursing slip bra there is still the need of a regular nursing bra besides, and due to the fact that a nursing bra is worn 24 hours a day and one certainly would not want to wear this combination, maternity nursing bra slip an entire day.

It is to be noted that the present construction will not necessarily raise the cost of the production of the regular slip and accordingly the present invention will be readily marketable without price factor as a competitive issue.

While various changes may be made in the detailed construction, it is readily understood that such changes will be within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

I claim:

1. In a nursing slip, the combination of a womans undergarment comprised of a plurality of vertical panels secured together along their side edges so to form a sheath fitting around the body of said woman, said undergarment being provided with a pair of breast cups secured to an upper edge of said panels, said breast cups being located upon the forward portion of said undergarment, one end of a pair of shoulder straps having one end secured to an upper edge of each of said breast cups, the opposite ends of said shoulder straps being secured to an upper edge of the panels located at the rear of said undergarment, each of said breast cups having a slot of generally inverted V-shaped configuration formed relatively close to said upper edge of each said cup, the opposite side edges of each said slot being provided with corresponding slide fastener elements which are selectively engageable, each said slot extending over a major length of said breast cup whereby said cup may be downwardly folded when said slide fastener elements are in a disengaged position so as to expose the breast for nursing an infant.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Fox.

Spangard 2104 XR Adler 2-73 XR Rosenberg 2-73 Marino 2-73 XR Delaney 2--74 U.S. Cl. X.R. 

